SLU Cycling

Ever heard of Randonneuring? Sounds French, doesn’t it? Well, the sport originated in France, but is becoming more and more popular in the United States.

Randonneuring is “long-distance unsupported endurance cycling.” You may have heard of it as “Ultra Long Distance Cycling.”

The joy of this sport is that it is non-competitive. Riders indulge in friendly camraderie, not trying to drive each other into the ground. And because the rides are “unsupported” – the idea is to be self sufficient.

There are many events held for Randonneur riding, but the names of winners are not posted. Rather, the names of the riders who have finished the course are posted in alphabetical order. It’s not about beating anyone, it’s about challenging yourself.

These events consist of rides of 200, 300, 400, 600, and 1000 KM for individual riders. Each of these distances is called a “brevet.” There are probably events being held in your area, even if you’ve never heard of them before. Search the web under “randoneuring” or “ultra long distance cycling” and you’ll find any local clubs.

Now, it’s when road riders want to participate in racers and ultra long distance cycling that they’ll want a custom-built road bike rather than one purchased just off the rack.

It’s not that bikes purchased just off the rack aren’t perfectly serviceable for most riders, but serious athletes – professionals, and those just below the professional level – will certainly want a custom-built bike – one that is precisely fitted to their body. (Customized bikes, and custom-built bikes, are two different things. Customized bikes swap out various pieces for better fitting pieces, whereas custom-built bikes are built to certain specifications from the ground up.)

Triathletes are another group of people who need custom-built bikes. In a triathlon, the participants have to swim, cycle and then run for certain distances. It’s an incredibly grueling sport and so the cycle has to be the lightest, the most sturdiest, and the best fitted piece of equipment they have.

Many bike companies offer customized road bikes, and while they are expensive, they’re not as expensive as they used to be because with new technology always comes lower prices. It’s possible to purchase your customized bike from a local dealer, but for a custom-built bike, most likely you’ll have to go online.

Companies that offer custom-builds include Guru, Waterford, and Titus. Do a search on the web to find them, and they’ll tell you all the information you need to know to get a custom-built bike.

By: Alastair Hamilton

About the Author:

road bikes

For those who are enthusiastic about paintball they have two primary selections when planning an excursion in paintball. Number one is the Commercial paintball type of field and the second one is the “outlaw” type of paintball field. These two unique variations of paintball fields differ to a great degree and have to be compared before you make a decision as how either one best fits your personal needs and the needs of the other participants.

The Commercial Paintball Field Is An Excellent Method To Try Some of the Paintball Competitions

One of the best ways for a beginner to experience paintball would be the commercial type of paintball field and then come to a conclusion if this type of sport is one that they would be interested in spending time as well as money in playing.

One of the benefits of a commercial paintball field is that you can rent all of the necessary equipment, for instance a marker (paintball gun), mask as well as protection for the eyes, paintball ammunition as well as compressed air. This type of equipment are primary tools needed to play successfully as well as in a safe manner and by renting the equipment for the player who is doing this the first time is an excellent way to find out if this is the type of sport that is something they enjoy or not.

Additionally, the size of commercial fields are typically small and have many bunkers as well as forts so you can keep yourself hidden as well as evade your competition. You will also find that there are referees there to oversee the game and make sure that they rules are followed and everyone plays safely. For a person that has not played paintball, the commercial paintball field is a great way to get to experience the game while not having to make a big financial commitment in equipment.

The “Outlaw” Paintball Field Frequently Needs Teamwork To Defeat An Opponent

Paintball fields known as “Outlaw” are typically informal types of wooded areas where a bunch of friends and colleagues get together to play a game of paintball. There are numerous safety rules of thumb that should be adhered to whenever paintball is played. Some of the general rules to follow is to make sure that the entire group is calibrating and measuring the velocity of each paintball gun with a “chronograph”. Also putting on the needed safety regulated equipment as well as following the other general safety rules.

Paintball is a highly enjoyable game to play as long as everyone in your group realizes as well as follows the primary safety guidelines. These type of “Outlaw” games have been nicknamed “woodsball” amongst paintball enthusiasts. You will find in “woodball” that the terrain is frequently challenging, giving physical challenges such as valleys, trees, hills, shrubs etc. These external types of difficulties add to the total challenge of the game itself, hence making “woodsball” a highly popular field of choice for numerous people who are enthusiastic about paintball.

An Urban Paintball Delight, Tourney Ball Furnsihes Numerous Unique Challenges

There is a third kind of paintball field which is known as Tourney ball field. This smaller sized paintball field has numerous bunkers that are filled with air that are arranged in similar positions on two different sides of the field. What this accomplishes is that each team is faced with an identical mirror image of the competitive field, with each team holding their own side. The tourney ball fields are typically located in areas that are urban and are very well liked alternative to that is “Woodsball. Tourney all has different types of variations; one is that of “speedball” and “hyperball”, these are additionally located almost exclusively in urban areas.

By: Korbin Newlyn

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content

The Way of St James / El Camino / le Chemin St Jacques is the pilgrimage route to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostella in northern Spain.

To set out on the Way to Santiago de Compostella / Saint-Jacques de Compostelle is a spiritual adventure – for on the Camino we may draw on the imprinted energy of the countless pilgrims who have passed this way before us over so many centuries. For the Way of St James has existed for more than a thousand years, and in 1993 the Camino de Santiago was declared a world heritage site.

In fact the Way of St James consists of many pilgrim routes which traverse Europe, to converge in the Pyren